


The Time Traveler and The Immortal

by Fairylights_and_Stormynights



Series: The Time Traveller and The Immortal [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Badass Rose, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Platonic Doctor/River Song, Platonic Rose Tyler/River Song, Pre-Relationship, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Time Travel, immortal rose, parental relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-06 13:24:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11601540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fairylights_and_Stormynights/pseuds/Fairylights_and_Stormynights
Summary: Rose is immortal and has been for years, she has seen the rise and fall of many things. But why does the strange man keep appearing through the years? And why does he get her to help him change history?





	1. The beginning of the friendship

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I wrote when I was much younger and as a result, the writing and the style are very different to what I write like now. So chapter one is a chapter that I wrote ages ago and the chapters after it is all new.

We first met when Rome fell. By then I knew what I was; who I was. I had known ever since Queen Nefertiti died; since my sister died. It had been many hundreds of years since then and by now I knew I could never die. 

I don’t know why this had happened to me, the knowledge that everyone I would love and ever love would die before me aged and withered while I stayed young even if we had shared the same life. It hurt at first, and every time after someone else had died; I always swore that was the last time I would love someone. That nobody else would find their way into my heart. But every time someone did. 

When my younger sister died at the age of 90, I had tried to follow her. I tried so many times, but it never worked. I would just wake up again, wounds all gone. The house that we had once lived in became a painful site so I left.

I wondered for many years living everywhere and anywhere that took my fancy; living in the background and in the shadows. Amusing myself by learning about almost anything I could try to find something permanent.

I lived in Athens for many years and watched to city grow knowing that I would see it fall one day. 

I lived in a small Gaulish village by the seaside for a few years watching it fight against the Roman invaders. I befriended many and lost many. But when I was with Asterix and the rest I almost forgot most of my troubles. 

I lived in Rome as well. I watched the Games in the Coliseum. I saw many rulers fall and others rise. I watched Rome grow for many years and I began to think that I had found something permanent, the way the city took its challenges head on and always recovered gave me hope. I thought I had found something that could stay with me through my long immortal life, something that I could trust. But then I watched it fall. Sometimes I am almost glad it did. Then I wouldn’t have met him. He is the closest thing that I will ever have to permanent.

We met when the city was in flames. The house I had and was living in sat on a hill above the city, I was in no danger from the flames, even if my house went up in smoke. I was sitting outside and I watched it burn. The wind that night carried the fire through every house and I could hear the screams of the people below. The air was filled with the smell of smoke and the smell of things burning. While I felt an ache in my heart at the sight of the city in flames, I shed no tears. I had known somewhere that it would not last forever as I had hoped. I sighed and stood up. I would have to pack my things. I would find a new place. Somewhere across the sea. I gave one last look at burning city and turned slowly to my home. I was not three paces inside when I heard footsteps outside. I turned around expecting a fleeing citizen who would beg me to come and save someone from the flames. Instead, there was a strangely dressed man. 

He was wearing nothing like the togas and clothes that the citizens of Rome wore but something I later learned was a suit. He had a mass of crazy brown hair that stuck up at all angles and he looked like looked he was having the best day.  
“Hello?” I questioned,  
“Hello,” He exclaimed, glee clear on his face. “You have the best view of the city from here so I thought I would pop up and watch the city burn. I have always wanted to see the destruction of Rome,” He sat himself down on my bench and looked up at me. “I’ve read about this day in books, but I’ve never seen it happen in person; I never got the date right, and ended up on the ashes tomorrow.” I stared at him. This man was obviously mad.  
“Ummm….” My voice was shaky, “Are you sane?”  
“Brilliant question,” He exclaimed with a smile, “Unfortunately you will find me quite sane.”  
“Unfortunately?” I asked my voice weak.  
“Yes well, all the best people are crazy,” He continued grinning his crazy grin, “All the best people are.”  
“What?”  
“Inside joke. You wouldn't know about this for another couple of thousand years. Oh well”  
He jumped up and strolled down the hill toward a blue box in the distance, leaving me in stunned silence.

The next time we met was at a party. It was more of a banquet, but the same principle really. It was for King William. And I was a servant. And tonight I was to protect the king. I saw him standing across the room, clad in servants clothes as well. It was a shock to me because I thought he would be long dead. It had been a few hundred years or so, all people from that time were dead. Dead and gone. And yet. I smiled politely at the woman I was serving and moved over to him. As was walking over I let my hair fall over my face to disguise my appearance. If he was the same person then he could recognise me. I stopped beside him.

“Lovely party isn’t it?” He seemed surprised by my voice, it was as if he was lost.  
“Yes, I wish I wasn’t here as a servant.”  
“Yeah, this would be better to attend as a noble.” He laughed,  
“Even then, this would get a bit boring after a while.”  
“Why?”  
“This kind of thing doesn’t interest me all that much.”  
“But I suppose Rome burning does.” I turned to face him and pushed my hair back to show my face. 

He let out a strangled yelp and backed into the wall. His eyes flashed in terror and he almost dropped the tray he was holding. I glanced at the party to see if anyone had noticed but we looked like the lower class, no noble would pay any attention to us. 

I grabbed his hand and dragged him into a room just off the party and locked the door. I slowly turned and faced him. 

“Ok, who are you?” My voice cut like a knife through the air, “I saw you in Rome about a thousand years ago, spill.”  
“I . . . Ummm,” His eyes flicked around the room in fear looking for a way out. “I . . . Wait how are you alive?”  
“I asked first.”  
“I, I am a time traveller.” His face was utterly serious when he said this,  
“Really?”  
“Yes, I travel through time, I’m in this time to stop the king from being saved,”  
“Why.”  
“Because if he is saved then he will kill millions.” I sighed, my job just go 10 times harder.  
“Now answer my question, who are you and why are you still alive?’  
“I’m immortal.” The answer was out of my mouth before I even knew it.  
“Wow, really?” He had let go of his fear and was looking at me.  
“Yes.” I looked away and an awkward silence filled the room. “Soooooooo, What’s your name.”  
“My name? Oh, right now I’m going as John Smith, but more recently I think I prefer the name Doctor. And I travel through time in my blue box” He grinned like a madman.  
“My name is Rose, just Rose.” 

After that night we were best friends, I let an assassin kill the king and he in return would visit me throughout the years. Every 10 years we met up, sometimes more than 10 years, sometimes less but we always met up. He often had me kill a person as they would wage war on countries but only at the end of their time stream. 

The next most memorable time was when we met in 1765. He appeared just as I was getting breakfast on the table. I ignored him and sat down and took a bit of my food. 

“So,” he began. He was nervous I could tell just by his voice, “I need you to protect someone, this time it’s simple.”  
“Simple?” I raised my eyebrow, “Last time you said it was simple I ended up beheaded and you were almost impaled.”  
“Well, that was an accident.”  
“How did you think it was going to turn out?”  
“Differently.”  
“Yes well, how do you think he would have reacted when you strolled up to Vlad the Impaler and asked, ‘Well Vladdy, do you think you could bugger off and not attack the Ottomans.’?”  
“By saying yes.”  
“Well then, remind me never to trust your judgment.” I looked up at his face and saw how serious he was. “All right what is it?”  
“Well…”


	2. Who to protect

“It’s...It’s,”

“Bigger on the inside?”The Doctor’s voice was amused and playful as I nodded dumbly. The inside of his blue box was almost as big as the banquet hall that we talked in back when he was still John Smith and I was still only Rose. There were four pillars that jutted up into the ceiling and leant away from the centre where a control panel flashed and blinked and wired. The walls seemed to be made of copper and gold with orbs indenting the crescent walls. The Doctor almost danced up to the console and the ship seemed to buzz with life. 

“She’s a T.A.R.D.I.S, Time And Relative Dimension In Space. And she.” He pushed down on a button and flicked a switch. “Can travel anywhere in time and space.” He almost flew around the opposite side and hit more buttons. 

I walked slowly up to where The Doctor was, climbing the small set of steps gracefully, scared that one wrong move could fly me away.

“So, anywhere in time and space, where are you going to take me?” I was trying for a playful tone, pushing the awe and wonder from my lungs but the words got caught as I neared the console and saw the lights gleam and flash.

“Well as much as I would like to keep you for myself,”At this, he grinned and flicked his eyes up to me, "I need you to help me protect someone.” 

“Who?”I asked,

“Someone very close to me, or will be. She doesn't even know I exist yet and if she is to live the way she should, she shouldn’t find out about me yet.”His voice went sad and eyes clouded with memories. “Something happens to her eventually, and she never knew this version of me. I want to save her and give her a good life. But to do that I need someone who can protect her and someone who can stay by her side even as she ages and attracts attention.”

“She doesn't know you yet?”I questioned, my voice was low so The Doctor crept out of his memories slowly and comfortably instead of all at once. 

“No, and technically I’ve never met her. I looked into the time vortex accidentally when I was fixing the T.A.R.D.I.S up last week. I saw into my future and next regeneration I meet her. Bad things happened to her and I want to save her from that.” He looked up at me and I realised that I was starting. He pulled a screen down from over his head and started pushing buttons and typing. 

“What’s her name?”I asked. I circled closer to see what he was going on the screen.

“Melody Pond,” He half whispered, turning to me and pushing the screen in front of my view, “Well, River Song depending on when you meet her,” He bent his head back and scratched the back of his neck. “But she was Melody first.”

I looked at the image he was showing me. It was a small girl with milky white skin and wispy, dark, reddish, brown hair that curled around her temples and shoulders and flew off into the air framing her face. Her eyes were a watery blue with a ring around her pupil that was almost brown. She was wearing a brown cardigan that was fading and well worn. I looked to the doctor and he looked at me. His eyes were sad. 

“That's her at age seven, she regenerated shortly after into a baby, I want to stop that. She was controlled and altered her whole life and I want that to change, I want to protect her. And I can't do that directly. If you protect her then she might lead a different life. So I’ll drop you off when she was four and you can look after her from then. Please?”He added the please as an afterthought.

“Of Course, I came to help didn’t I. And besides,”I added, “I want to help her, she seems sweet.”

“River? Well, I suppose she might be at this age but she is more fire than sweetness when she grows up.”He was smiling again as if he was remembering all the times he was burned by her fire, “She answered to no one and could beat a mule with how stubborn she is. She never cared what people thought of her.” 

“Well, those are some traits I’ll have to keep.”I grinned up at The Doctor, “Oh, where is she?”

“Florida, 1960s in an orphanage, sent there to try to keep her safe,” The Doctor seemed angry as he uttered those words.

“And where will I be living with her?”The question flying off my tongue,

“Leadworth 1995, that's where and when her parents grew up, I may not be able to let them raise her but they can at least be friends so they have some input on her life.”

“Clever,”I hummed,

“I will set up the house for you and all the money needed, and I’ll even pop around and take you and Mels off to see the stars.” His smile grew then fell, “If you want me to that is, I won’t stay, I’m not the settling down type.”

“I’m not either but I learned.”My eyes softening at the look on The Doctor’s face, “And Doctor, I would love it if you stopped by. You always have such interesting stories.” He looked a bit happier after I said that, 

“Ok then,” And he gave me a great, big, gappy smile, “Oh, before we pick her up and drop you off I should probably give you a lesson in what's changed and what's happening in 1995 so you don’t go around thinking King George III is still on the throne.” He leapt down the steps and charged off into a corridor that came off the room we were in. “Allons-y,”. 

And I followed him, down the corridor into a library and started to learn what had happened while I was off in this blue box with a mad man who liked to be called Doctor.


	3. A Home and A Melody

The place we arrived to pick up Melody was something out of a Dickens book. It was dark and grimy and sunken. The door was made of rotting wood and even though the sign outside said it was an orphanage, I felt like the place hadn’t seen any children for years. The inside was a maze, all hallways and rooms filled with furniture covered in white sheets and peeling wallpaper and mouldy walls. Navigating through the house made me feel like Theseus on his way to kill the Minotaur. The house was so closed, every room having four walls and a door.

After many dead ends and empty rooms, we finally came across Melody. She was lying on a low bed, her sheets seemed damp and scratchy and very uncomfortable for the sensitive skin of a child. It was lit from one weak light overhead that only succeeded in lengthening the shadows instead of driving out the dark. 

Melody looked up from where she lay on the bed and sat up. She slipped off the bed and went over to us. Her eyes were big and wide and her pale complexion made her seem like a ghost child. The house and the shadows of the room were swallowing her up.

“Who, are you?” She asked, her voice was quiet and scared and made me want to sweep her into a hug. I wanted to keep her safe and to take her away from this gloomy life she was living into one filled with light. I was immortal and had seen so much during my time, and I knew that, even in the streets of Rome or in the safe walls of a castle; that this was no way for a child to live.

“My name is Rose and this is The Doctor,” I crouched down so I was eye level with her and put my hands on her shoulders, “And we’re here to take you with us.” I kept my voice soft as if I was talking to a scared animal.

“Why do you want me?” She was sceptical and looked at me dead in the eyes definitely. She was sizing me up and that knowledge made me want to cry. It was a sad day that a four-year-old treated new people the same way I did, even with less finesse, caution and paranoia. 

“Well The Doctor here is a time traveller and he wants to look after you so future you if happy. And because he is impeachment and almost a child himself,” I continued ignoring The Doctor’s shout of protest, “He wants me to look after you while he’s off saving the universe.”

“Really,” Her eyes widened and she looked to The Doctor the same way children looked toward their heroes. She looked at him like he was the knight saving her from the dragon or Superman saving the earth. The Doctor chuckled, recognizing the way she looked at him.

“Yes Really,” The Doctor finally spoke up and crouched down beside me, “Future you is important to future me, so it only makes sense that present you should be important to present me.” He grinned, showing off his teeth, “And Rose here is special as well, she’s a hero as well. She saves me.”

“Doctor!” I looked at him, trying to convey the thanks I felt for him not telling her I was immortal through my gaze. My tone made me sound annoyed but I only really felt affection toward him, The Doctor; protecting me from a small child I could snap in half with a hug. 

“If you both are heroes,” Melody said, drawing my attention back to her, “Is future me a hero too,” She looked sad as she said those words and went to stare at the floor, believing that she was never going to compare to the heroes in front of her.

“Melody,” The Doctor said slowly, gently he put his hand under her chin, “Future you is one of the bravest heroes I will ever meet. Plus,” He smiled and it must have been contagious as she was smiling as well now, “Five hundred years of time and space and I’ve never met someone who wasn't important. And I’ve been to the end of the universe and back,”

Rose straightened up and held her hand out towards the small girl. “Shall we get going then? The Doctor has a house ready for us.” It was one of the first things The Doctor had taught me about, electric lighting and heating and taps and TV. I had gotten the chance to try out all of those features in the T.A.R.D.I.S and each one made the years living by candlelight and bathing in icy water all worth it. 

Melody took her hand and let herself be lead away, “Where is it,” Her eyes were shining. The room seemed to slip away from her as she started imaging where she was going to be living from now on.

“Leadworth, In England,” I replied and followed the doctor out to the T.A.R.D.I.S. that was the place The Doctor had said, the place where Melody’s parents were living. Pint sized as they were.

“How will we get there, will it be by plane? I’ve never been on a plane before.” The words tumbled out of Melody’s mouth as she hurried to talk, the idea of air travel so exciting and so different for her.

This time The Doctor answered, “A plane, no, I’ve got something even better.” His voice was sounding smug and without looking I could tell there was a smile splattered on his face. He got the same way whenever he started to talk about the T.A.R.D.I.S.

“Even better?” Melody looked amazed, “What could be better?” She was looking up at me this time, perhaps hoping I would tell her. She seemed to know that The Doctor would be hard to pull information from.

“Well…”

\----------

 

The house was unlike anything I’d ever seen. That comment could be taken with a pinch of salt considering that I was now two hundred years into my future but even to people who lived in this time would be amazed by the house. 

The house was several stories high, three stories and an attic. If I was to explore the house I’m sure that I would find a basement as well. It was made of red bricks and had eaves over each window and the sloping roof. The door was painted the same colour as the T.A.R.D.I.S and had a brass door knocker that looked like a lion. A turret came out of the left side of the house and it was covered in ivy. 

Melody was alive with energy as she looked up to the house and then to The Doctor who was walking towards the door. 

“We’re going to live here?” She sounded starstruck by the mere thought of living somewhere so nice and so much like a fairy tale castle.

“Yep,” The Doctor was smiling in the same way that I had begun to find so endearing, “And,”He said as he turned and saw Melody’s excited smile, “Till you see the inside.”

“What’s inside?” Melody almost ran to the door, she was buzzing and The Doctor couldn’t open the door fast enough, as soon as it was open she was charging on inside and had disappeared before I even reached the door. 

“There’s…”And then The Doctor realized he was talking to air, “Oh, she’ll find out.” He leaned against the door frame and turned to smile at me. I ignored the way my heart fluttered at his easy smile and asked,

“So, what’s in there?” I leaned back against the wall next to the door, “Knowing you it could be anything.”

“A room full of toys, A library, A pool,” He listed, “And that's just the rooms. There are three extra taps as well as hot and cold.”

“What could they be? How many temperatures are there?” From inside I heard Melody running around and her happy screams echoed around the rooms.

“Not temperatures,” The Doctor said excitedly, he was smiling like a two-year-old now and he raised a hand to push his hair back from his face, “Lemonade, Hot Chocolate and Tea,” He seemed so happy and pleased with himself. I started laughing.

“Doctor, she’ll rot her teeth, and why would they need to be in the bathroom? Do you bathe in Tea?” The Doctor looked surprised to be questioned and he almost looked taken aback.

“Well...Ummm...So what if I do, I’m an alien, I could do a great many things that seem weird to you humans.” He spluttered, I was about to answer when Melody exploded out of the house. She was babbling and chattering excitedly.

“Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, there's a whole room full of toys and a room full of books and a cinema room and a room with a garden and a room with a jungle gym and...and...and,” she paused for a breath. “Come on,” 

I gave The Doctor an apologetic smile and let myself be pulled inside by the four-year-old. But before she dragged me into the depths I turned and called behind me, 

“Doctor, can you stay for awhile, just a few nights till we’re settled? I’m sure the universe can survive without you for a few days.” 

And my heart was warmed when he nodded his head and said yes. 

The next few days went by without too much mishap. Melody was enrolled in a school near the house and I was established as Melody’s Aunt and The Doctor as John Smith, my best friend and honorary Uncle to Melody. It made me smile to hear The Doctor’s old name be used. It made me think of all the times we were together throughout my life and made me think of lavish parties held by kings and the heat from a burning Rome. 

But, the days that The Doctor stayed drew to a close and soon he was hopping back into his blue box. I was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be around for Melody’s first day at school, but I knew he hated the idea of being tied down. 

“I’ll come visit every four months or so, probably,” He said as he opened to T.A.R.D.I.S door, “Send me updates every week so I know that we’re not interfering anymore with her time stream than needed.” And he threw a phone over at me, “This will contact me wherever and whenever you are. Do call.”He smiled softly and moved his hand to rub his hair, “Even if it’s not about Mels, call me.Goodbye” He squeaked the last part and it sounded like the chew toy from some animal; then he ran like a frightened deer into the T.A.R.D.I.S and I hear the whining and groaning sound of the ship taking off. I looked up at the stars when he finished dematerialising.

“Goodbye Doctor,” Then I walked slowly back inside to tuck Melody into bed. Or hammock, which ever she chose that night.


	4. Mistletoe Doesn't Always Mean Kissing Part 1

When The Doctor showed up for Melody’s fifth birthday was the day he took us on an adventure. 

I had held a small party a few days earlier, inviting Melody’s friends, Amy and Rory over for cake and tea and games. When I told The Doctor he laughed and said that they would grow up to be her parents. He also said that he crashed into Amy’s garden when she was 7 so when she finally reached that age and future him crashed into her garden shed, I should make Melody swear not to reveal she knew him.

Life was painfully dull for me. Melody lived like a child should, having sleep overs and going to school and running around in the park when she was hyped up on ice cream. For me, me who was used to battles and simpler times when random strangers tried to attack you and every day having to try survive, this life of luxury and technology was simple and dull in comparison. I spent my time cooking and practising my gymnastics so my abilities wouldn’t grow rusty and watching movies and TV shows. It was amazing how far behind you were when you were suddenly dropped into the future. Every Time The Doctor visited I hoped he would take me and Melody away on an adventure and every time he came and told us stories about the things he encountered and smiled in ways that made my heart dance, he would take us on adventures around Leadworth, looking for real pirate treasure or finding hidden caves full of drawings from bored cave men or settlers. But he never took us on an adventure through time and space, probably because Melody was so small and for that I respected him and he held an even higher regard in my mind. 

Then when Melody turned five he turned up at four in the morning. I heard the wheezing of the T.A.R.D.I.S and the slam of a door and then as I was dragging myself up and awake and pulling my clothes on, Melody ran into my room.

“Rose, Rose,” The doctor is here. He’s here and he says he has a birthday surprise for me.” She sounded so awake and full of energy for someone who was asleep moments ago. Ugh, to be that young and full of sugar. 

“Really? Well, we better go and see what it is,” I smiled then yawned as I was pulled downstairs by the five-year-year and into the kitchen where The Doctor sat looking awake and put together. It was probably midday for him. That bastard.

The Doctor looked up at me as I was pulled into the room and grinned. It was hard to be so mad at a person who was looking so sweet, but I managed.

“You do know it’s four in the morning right?” I muttered grumpily. “It might be the middle of the day for you but some of us have a different sleep schedule.”

“No it’s four in the morning for me too,” He replied happily his smile growing bigger and making it harder to seem mad, “But I require less sleep than you humans.” And I had no trouble being mad at him again. 

“Well mister ‘I sleep less,’ I need another few hours,” I growled out and went to turn back to go to bed. I was stopped by Melody pulling on my sleeve. She was doing doe eyes and a wobbling bottom lip, the same expression she used when she wanted something packed with sugar or to go around to Amy’s.

“But Rose, you're already dressed and it’s my birthday. Please,” She talked in a hurt tone and made her bottom lip wobble even more. 

“Well…” I breathed, I knew I had lost but I wasn’t going down without a fight. When she climbed onto The Doctor’s lap and increased the puppy eyes I repented. “Fine,” I groaned. “Where are we going?”

“Since it’s Melody’s birthday,” The Doctor explained, “ I thought we could go and get her a birthday present on Baldur IX.” He was buzzing with excitement and his eyes shone with anticipation. 

 

“Baldur IX?” I echoed, he had never mentioned it when he told about his adventures when we stayed up past midnight and sometimes into the sunrise talking in dark rooms and empty homes. 

“It’s a space station that’s really a massive toy store. You can get almost every toy in the universe there.” He seemed so pleased with himself and on his lap Melody was beaming with the prospect of going to a giant space toy store. 

“Yes, Yes, Let’s go now, come on, Let’s go, let’s go.” With a small hop Melody jumped off The Doctor’s lap and onto the floor, “Toy Station, Toy Station,”

“Fine, but you have to take us somewhere else as well, we’re not spending all day choosing a toy,” I said as I walked toward the door, pulling my coat and Melody’s duffle of a hook and slipping both her and myself into them, I had no clue what the space station temperature was like but Leadworth was experiencing post winter chills and the short walk to the T.A.R.D.I.S would freeze you within an inch of your life.

“Very well, I know a great planet that’s a massive theme park and does some of the best ice cream in the galaxy.” The Doctor replied as he closed the door behind him. “Allons-y,”

\-----------

The shadows seemed to have a life of their own. They possessively hid the room in their darkness, hiding the high ceiling away and stashing the shelves of toys in the gloom. The place was hauntingly empty and the silence had a presence that's loomed over us as we strolled out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. In the distance, we could hear the sound of drilling and metal on metal and banging and bashing. 

“Toys, Toys, Toys,”Melody sang as she skipped ahead. The Doctor, however, reached out and grabbed her hand as she was flinging them around in a happy dance. He gently pulled her behind him and looked around suspiciously. 

“Something’s not right here,” He said quietly, his eyes seemed serious as he turned to me. “We should have arrived during the normal sales time.” He turned around to look around the space station. “We should look around,”.

“Stick together?” I asked, falling into step with him and Melody as we started to walk away from the T.A.R.D.I.S,”This seems very horror movie,” 

“Of course,” He grinned at me, “Unless you're too scared to look around and want to hide in the T.A.R.D.I.S?” He challenged me.

We walked through the store and the lack of life made the whole place seem hollow. The entire place seemed like it was made for life. It had banners and displays everywhere, with playgrounds and fountains littered through as if dropped randomly. There was a massive food court area that seemed more reminiscent to the jungle gyms of Melody’s time than anything else. It was like an empty swing swaying in the wind. Naturally, The Doctor started walking towards the source of the noise that was echoing throughout the dark aisles and halls. As we got closer, I started to notice some life. 

They were like robots. Tall and shiny with silver limbs and torso, when we first neared them The Doctor sucked in a breath. He recognized them and I took a moment to think back to all the stories he had told me until my mind latched onto the familiar description. Cybermen. Creeping along the walls, hiding in the shadows. The Doctor, Melody and I slinked near the source of the noise and what we saw as we got closer startled me. 

There were children. They stood, faces blank and unseeing at attention while silver wiring gleamed on their faces. Melody, who up until this point had been quiet, noticing the tension and danger of the scene started the shake. I couldn’t tell if it was from the fear or from rage. When it came to Melody you could never really tell. The Doctor was also quivering and after knowing him for so long I knew his jitters were from a mix of rage and anticipation over his newest adventure. As for myself, I refused to let my body react, the only part of me that was not moving like a trained soldier of a cat after it’s prey were my eyes, which were flitting between the children, Melody and The Doctor, as well as my brain which was running at a million miles per hour. I barely moved until I felt a hand fall on my shoulder.

With trained grace and skill, I silently grabbed the hand that had rested on my shoulder and flipped the body that it belonged too, letting it fall on the floor with a muffled thud. I expected a Cyberman, all angles and armour plating but instead, I was met with a human. He had eyes that were almost apple green and short, spiky, black hair. He seemed to be slightly under fed in a way that reminded me of Melody when I first met her and was wearing a plaid shirt and jeans. The Doctor and Melody stopped advancing and turned, hearing the sound of the man hitting the ground. He held his hands up in surrender. 

“Hi, My name’s Jimmy,” He breathed, he was so quiet he almost wasn’t there, “I can answer questions, and I would like to answer some as well, but can we do it in a more secure environment?” I turned to The Doctor for an answer and he nodded. I stood up and helped Jimmy to his feet. 

“Can we go now?” I asked, I could hear the heavy footsteps of approaching Cybermen and knew that hiding in the shadows by the walls wouldn’t work for much longer, plus I was eager to get Melody out of danger. 

He nodded and noticing the urgency in my eyes, speed walked away and the three of us followed. He lead us through the labyrinth of aisles and play areas till we were almost as far from the Cybermen as possible. Then he walked over to a shelf that held rows upon rows of stuffed animals and pulled lightly on it. I watched as it came away from the wall and revealed a passageway. The Doctor and Melody followed him through straight away and I went with them after snagging a toy tiger from the self. The passage way was dark but I could see a room at the very end and the light from there was the only light once Jimmy had put the self back across the entrance. I snagged Melody’s hand and held her back. I pushed the tiger into her arms.

“This is an early present,” I whispered, “He is a magic tiger who can protect you,” Melody looked at me like she didn’t buy my story but she gripped the tiger tighter, “If you hold onto him then nothing bad will happen to you and when this is over we can take him home and treat him to ice cream,” I had bent down to her level to talk to her and I noticed The Doctor and Jimmy were waiting, “Ok?”

“Ok.” She repeated and grasped my hand. Damn it she was too young for these types of dangerous adventures. I then took her down the passageway till we caught up. Then Jimmy leads us into the light. 

And sitting in the lit room was a Cyberman.


	5. Mistletoe Doesn't Always Mean Kissing Part 2

The Cyberman was sitting in an arm chair that seemed stiff and uncomfortable. He was splashed with red and green paint and if descended down his chest and over his legs. He also glimmered and shined differently than the other Cybermen we had just seen. As if he had been dipped in glitter. But the thing that stood out the most was over his mouth, the hard line that marred his face, was a smile that reached almost from eye to eye, drawn in marker. He was also dotted by shines of colour from the reflection of fairy lights that were strewn around the room. 

The room itself was small, and it looked like it was owned by a hoarder. Piles of food were in the corners and blankets seemed to form a makeshift bed. There were mountains of circuitry that littered the floor in different states of modification. 

At the sight of a Cyberman, The Doctor wiped out his sonic screwdriver although what that would do against a robot was beyond me. Maybe he could assemble a cabinet at it? Melody whimpered and hid behind my legs, clutching the Tiger closer. Jimmy noticed our looks of distress. 

“Oh no, Mistletoe isn’t like the other Cybermen you saw back there. It took me a while to trust him and to see him differently but he’s really not like them. He’s…”Jimmy was struggling for words and his eyes were flitting between what we now knew as ‘Mistletoe’ and The Doctor, “He’s like a giant robot teddy bear...Vulcan,” He finally summarized. 

“Okay,” The Doctor said suspiciously, “And Mistletoe is different why?” He looked over at Mistletoe and from what I could tell from behind The Doctor, looked him in the eye. “How are you different from the other Cybermen out there?” And he gestured at the passage that lay behind us. 

“I have gone, what Cybermen consider mad,” Mistletoe sat up even more and turned slightly toward us. 

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?’ I asked as I moved more into the room with Melody still tucked behind me. It was warm in here and it made a change from the chill of the rest of the station.

“Yes, of course.” Mistletoe began, “I was part of a Cyberman ship that was on an invasion mission around the galaxy to upgrade and expand the Cyberman empire. But…” He seemed like he was sucking in a breath, “We were hit by a comet and the ship was destroyed, only two of us made it out without being totally destroyed. Me and one other,” He looked down and seemed about as sad as a Cyberman could be.

“A second is he here?” The Doctor pressed, “Is he hostile?” He looked worried.

“Yes, he is here. His name is Baldur.” Mistletoe looked up. “We hit the space station and ended up inside. We were badly damaged and our systems were affected by the direct contact with space and with such cold. And while I ended up in a storage compartment filled with things I later knew as Christmas decorations, Baldur ended up in a drain. And while I thawed out and rebooted in an area filled with happiness and where I could hear the sounds of children shouting in joy. Baldur only saw darkness and only heard the groaning of pipes. When I had finally fixed myself, I had developed emotions.After a while, I realized what it felt like to be happy and regretful. But when Baldur thawed out he had only known darkness and things that kept his narrow-minded Cyberman metallicity intact. So while I lived in secret here. Baldur kidnapped people and started upgrading. He spent so long doing this that he too went mad. He took his name from the station and I took mine from my favourite of the Christmas decorations,” And he gestured to the sprigs of mistletoe that were about the room, “He created a way to make Cybermen that are even stronger and more ruthless by converting children with cybermites slowly until they assimilate. He took over the station a month ago.” Mistletoe looked sadly at his lap. “And I cannot stop him.” 

“I was shopping here with my wife, Mary and my son, Sam.” Jimmy put in, “Baldur took over the station, I made it out but I have no clue where Mary and Sam are and how they're doing.” He was sad and he sniffed as if holding back tears. “Mistletoe found me and we’ve been trying to think of a way to save everyone.” He explained. He looked disheartened, “We’ve only been able to scout around their base camp. They have a main control panel that Baldur controls the rest of the Cybermen from but we can’t get anywhere near it.” He looked down for a moment then looked up. His eyes were filled with tears. “I...I just want to see Mary and Sam again. And even if I can’t,” He choked out, “I would at least like to say goodbye.” And the tears he was trying to hold back dripped down his cheeks. 

“No use crying,” Said The Doctor, he sounded the same way he did whenever he was trying to seem positive and on top of things. He sounded like he wanted us to believe he had a plan. The last time I heard that voice I ended up stuck in a medieval dungeon about to be burned at the stake. And from the way that Jimmy, Melody and even from what I could tell Mistletoe seemed convinced, I was stoic and kept my face blank. “We can just sneak in, Mistletoe, You said there were pipes and vents all over the station?”He turned to the Cyberman.

“Yes, but they’re all incredibly small, Baldur fit in the largest and then only just. And he wasn’t trying to move around without making a noise.” The robot responded. 

“Yes well, Rose! Think you can fit down there and infiltrate without making a noise?” He looked at me and quirked an eyebrow. 

“Think Doctor? I know.” I looked him dead in the eyes and silently cursed him. I could get lost in his hot chocolate eyes but the smirk behind them let me know that he only phrased it that way so I would rise to the challenge. I have this thing where if someone doubts me or questions my abilities then I have a need to prove them wrong. “Just show me where I can get in.” 

“Good, Melody,” I drew a breath as he turned to her and crouched down. As much as I trusted The Doctor, I felt like he had spent so much time around people like me who were infallible that he lost perspective on how weak mortals are. I knew he was close her in the future and he knew what she would turn out to be, but the part of me that had been looking after Melody for months and months was fearful that she might be harmed. “Can you please infiltrate the children, I know their cyborgs but,” He drew in a breath and gestured to the surrounding circuitry. “We could make you look like one of them, when we stop Baldur they’ll come back to themselves and we don’t want a drove of panicked children to run into the Cybermen firing off their guns. Can you do that?” He asked.

“Yep,” Melody said and sniffed, “I’ll make sure that all the kids are safe,” I stopped myself from laughing, it was so silly, the five-year-old calling children who were probably older than her kids. 

“Great,” And he straightened up, “ Rose when you’ve snuck in I need you to distract the Cybermen and draw them away from the controls so that Mistletoe, Jimmy and I can override them all in a way that will save the children. “So where are the vents?” He looked to Mistletoe.

“We’re doing this now?” Mistletoe asked as he got out of the chair.

“No time like the present, we just need to make something to hide the fact that Mels isn’t a cyborg.” And he looked to me, “Rose, can you help?”

“Yep,” I replied and started toward some circuits, I stopped when I heard The Doctor cough. I turned to face him, “What?”

“Ummm,” And his eyes flicked up to where above our heads sat a sprig of mistletoe. “It’s tradition,” He offered up. I smirked and kissed my index finger and then put it to his lips.

“I’ll kiss you when we save the station, Doctor,” And I turned and started to make silver wiring like I had seen on the other children for Melody. 

Behind me, although I couldn’t see it, The Doctor sucked in a breath and looked at the back of my head.


	6. Mistletoe Doesn't Always Mean kisses Part 3

The vent shaft was tight and it took a lot of effort not to swear and hit the walls as I crawled. I was glad I wasn’t claustrophobic or the tight space that was pushing my arms into my sides and my head low would be frightening and the whole plan would go up in smoke. As I crawled my heart beat for Melody who was bravely infiltrating the ranks of the cyber-children. The thought of her being discovered made me crawl faster. As I continued I wondered why The Doctor didn’t just go back in time and stop Baldur from hitting the station.I feel like he just wanted the adventure. 

Swearing, I crawled through the dark bowels of the station. Occasionally the darkness was punctuated with shafts of light, lines cutting through the blackness when I passed over on under a grate. Over my head, I could hear the heavy footsteps of Cybermen walking in formation and the light pitter patter of the children cyborgs. Again I thought of Melody concealed and hidden as a cyborg child and I thought of Sam, Jimmy seemed so lonely without him or Mary even with the constant attention of Mistletoe and the rest of us. I finally stopped crawling when I reached a grate that let the hum of electricity and machines into the small space. 

I inched the grate open and pulled myself out at a snail’s pace. There were Cybermen a few meters away from me and they had their backs turned. Grateful that they hadn’t upgraded to have eyes in the back of their heads I slipped over past the control panel, it’s buzzing and whirring covering the slight noises I made and the blinking lights and buttons and levers distracting me for brief seconds. I got my body ready to run in the direction that had the least amount of Cybermen. I recalled Mistletoe and Jimmy’s information about how to hide in the closets and in stacks of toys as I took a deep breath. I had faced down Vlad the Impaler and plague and evil lords and ladies alike. Calming myself I stole a breath before crying out. 

“Hey Tinmen, am I in OZ or did you take the wrong yellow brick road?” As soon as the words left my mouth I curse at their stupidity but the Cybermen guarding the control panel turned, my words having their desired effect. I may have imagined it but I thought I heard The Doctor’s laughter. As soon as they saw me the Cybermen started advancing and I wasn’t about to put my immortality up against the Cyberman upgrades so I ran. 

As I ran I attracted the attention of the other Cybermen patrolling and almost all of them abandoned their stations in favour of chasing me down. The plan was working. 

I dashed through the shadowy toy store. Almost from every shadow a new Cyberman appeared and joined the chase. This had better be a big enough distraction. I ran until I reached an area so far away that no more Cybermen pulled themselves from the shadows and all I could hear were the thundering footsteps that followed me. At this point, I thought that The Doctor and the rest of the team were probably fine and I could stop the whole distraction. Taking advantage of my lead and the fact that none of them were using anything above normal speed I slipped behind a shelf and with one foot as I passed pushed open the door to what seemed like a shop that sold tree houses. I ran as fast and as quietly as I could until I was sure that I was alone and then climbed the shelves and jumped across the tops of the shelves just to be sure. 

When I finally made my way back to the control panel, The Doctor, Mistletoe and Jimmy were at work on the button and switches and levers. In the distance, I could see the statue like silhouette of the cyborg children and I felt like my gaze zeroed into the form that seemed like Melody. I turned back to The Doctor as he flicked a switch and pushed a button. 

“How much longer until it’s shut down?” I asked as I glanced back at the shadows where I had come from, praying that I wouldn’t see the sharp figure of a Cyberman. 

“Not much longer,” The Doctor replied, he looked over at me noticing my worry and giving me eyes I was sure I’d seen on a puppy. “Just need to override the firewall and find a way to stop the children from being fried along with the rest…”He was cut short by the sound of the elephant feet of a Cyberman, of the sound of two sets of feet.

I spun around and saw Mistletoe, Jimmy and The Doctor follow my movements a split second later. I saw the shadows almost part as two Cybermen appeared as if they had been made from shadows before. 

The Cyberman that seemed to be the leader reminded me of grubby windows. His metal suit was stained and rusted and coated in dust and grime. He moved as if his joints were rusted and blocked. He was also somehow short for a Cyberman and he seemed to take up no air in the room. He would have been no threatening with his appearance seeming like he had just crawled out of a rubbish bin had he not had eyes that glowed like small suns or hot coals. His eyes seemed to give out light like a torch and I when his gaze dropped onto my face I could feel his gaze like any other human. I could feel the way he let his eyes drag over my body and my face that seemed so alien with the way that Cybermen usually just fixed you with black hole eyes and made the way they looked at you seem as if they were an empty house.

The second Cyberman was like every other one we had seen. He was still tall and still shiny and silver. But the way he differed from the rest of them was the gold wiring that was creeping up his body and over his face in a mix of the same design, I had seen on the cyborg children and what I felt like was a steampunk starry night. Unlike the leader with eyes like hell, this Cyberman seemed polished and upright. A general in the army or a teacher's pet. 

“Baldur,” Mistletoe exclaimed and The Doctor looked hard at the new Cybermen that had approached, fear in his eyes as well as thrill from the adventure.


	7. Mistletoe Doesn't Always Mean kisses end

Baldur didn’t seem as if he was a leader. He stood, dirty and grimy and almost sullen just out of the shadows. He seemed more like a pile of scrap metal than a leader of a Cyberman army if it weren’t for the eyes. If you had given me a picture of Baldur and of the Cyberman standing behind him and asked me who the leader was I would have picked the Cyberman with the gold wiring in a second. But that might be what made Baldur so effective as a leader. Nobody expected it would be him.

“Hello…” Baldur droned, he sounded like nails on a chalkboard or a cat wailing. He stopped after one word and did what seemed like a wheeze. “I see that you have found my dear friend,” He paused and looked at Mistletoe, his coal red eyes boring into the friendly Cyberman. “You wished to be called Mistletoe, am I right?” He tilted his head a little and even with the synthesized voice, I could tell he knew exactly what Mistletoe’s name was. He was the type of villain that loved their own voice to the point of a monologue. I almost smiled. Almost, the thought of Melody in danger and the fact that if we didn’t sort this out she would never have the chance to grow up stopped my smile. Still, if Baldur monologue then we would be able to find a way to beat him, he was nothing special. Just another mad man in a robot suit.

“And these are your friends?” He continued his tone questioning, “Well, it’s not the resistance I was expecting, nothing can stop me,” And there it was. Honestly, whenever a villain says that you just know they were in for a bad time. Has he ever seen a Bond movie or any superhero flick?

He walked over to us and eyed us up. His footsteps, even though there were few in his walking over to us, sounded like thunder, the metal on metal sound defining. His eyes only lingering on me for a second before sweeping over The Doctor with interest and regarding Jimmy with what seemed to be mild respect. 

“The Doctor,” He said, returning his gaze back to the man I once knew as John Smith. “And company.” He added on, glancing at me for a fraction of a second, “I have heard much about you, both during my time here,” And he spread his arms to motion at the station, his joints creaked as they moved and stretched and a whine was heard from the elbow joint that clearly hadn’t been maintained, “And when I was still on the Cybership.”

“Well, glad to know the Cybermen are still throwing my name around.”The Doctor replied, “Oh, are they still talking about the time with the Moonbase? That was what 2070? And what about the time in 1851? With Jackson Lake and the info stamps? Thought he was a future version of me for a bit. Lovely man though. Math teacher and doing rather well for human thinking he was a time lord.” The Doctor rambled. He stopped when Baldur moved from him onto Jimmy who was standing stiff and tall with fear.

“And Jimmy, right?” Baldur intoned, “Who lost his precious wife and son when I took over. Yes.” He said to the surprised look on Jimmy’s face, “I know about you.” 

“WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MARY?” Jimmy yelled, he surged forward till he was almost touching Baldur, “WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SAM?”

“I know rather a lot,” Baldur said peacefully, not regarding the enraged action Jimmy had just done. “As you have suspected, I have taken the child and made him one of my own, my own little cyborg along with the rest of his little friends. And Mary.” He shuddered and bent down as if he was shook by laughter. “Mary, Mary, quite contrary.” 

The Doctor reached forward and held Jimmy back before he dived for Baldur. The man, however, hyped on adrenaline was never going to be a match for a Cyberman, mad and broken or not. 

Baldur started up suddenly and shifted his head a little till the Cyberman that had been standing behind him was just in his field of view. “Unit 01101101 step forward.”

The Cyberman that had the gold wiring creeping up against him like ivy stepped forward. “I am unit 01101101, designation - caretaker of the children.” He said in a flat voice. 

“And,” Said Baldur smugly. “Who were you before you were upgraded?” He looked back to Jimmy. 

“I was the human female known as Mary Mills.” Unit 01101101 said in the same flat tone not even moving. I felt dread pool in my gut and a heat flood my mind. I looked over at Jimmy and saw he was barely standing, he was clinging to The Doctor but his grip failed and he sunk to the floor and let out a wail. Even in the gloom, I could see fat, heavy tears roll off his face and saw the splatter of the salty water on the floor. 

“No, No, NO,” He spluttered out, his breathing shaky and uneven. 

The Doctor looked down at the broken man and quickly squatted down next to him and started rubbing his back. I stepped closer, still defensive and on edge. Baldur and Unit 01101101 had made no move to harm us just yet but I was wary. Mistletoe looked to Baldur.

“Baldur please, why would you do this? What do you need so badly that you must destroy so much to gain?” He pleaded. “Why do you hold onto the hate when there are so many other feelings you can experience?”

“What I wish to gain” Baldur repeated, “I wish for everyone else to feel the way I felt. To feel trapped and alone and left out as I did for years in the pipes.” he was almost yelling if Cybermen could raise their voices. 

“Happiness can be found in the darkest of time, if one only remembers to turn on the light,” The Doctor quoted as he stood up, pulling Jimmy up with him. “And so, Baldur, I shall turn on the light for you and all the other Cybermen on this space station.” And he whirled around and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the control panel. It went up in sparks and the moment it did, I heard Unit 01101101 fall to the ground and the sound of hundreds of other Cybermen fall to the floor of the space station. And as Baldur stood there, unaffected. The sharp yells of the children pierced the air. 

I looked to The Doctor expectantly. 

“Go, help Mels with the children.” He nodded toward the area where the screams were coming from. “We can deal with him.” And he jerked his head toward Baldur. 

“Very well Doctor,” I said and smiled at him. I took a step toward where I knew I would find Mels and the rest of the children and then turned back to The Doctor. He was looking away from me at Baldur who was being restrained by Mistletoe and Jimmy. I snuck over and planted a kiss on his cheek. He wheeled around but I had already turned away and was making my way over to where Mels and the rest were. 

I never knew he was watching me go.


End file.
